Feds celebrate Intellectual Property Day with more IP cops

On the 10th annual World Intellectual Property Day, the US announces a major …

Yesterday was World Intellectual Property Day. Though not usually thought of as a gift-giving holiday, the US did take the opportunity to give something to IP rightsholders: 35 new federal officials focused on domestic and international IP crimes.

The Department of Justice has created 15 new Assistant US Attorney positions, all part of the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) program. The new attorneys will be scattered across the country.

The FBI also gets 20 new Special Agents that will focus on "four geographic areas with intellectual property squads, and increase investigative capacity in other locations around the country where IP crimes are of particular concern." The four locations are LA, San Francisco, New York, and Washington, DC.

Given that the FBI only has 31 existing special agents focused on IP crimes, this is a major increase in Bureau manpower.

"Theft of intellectual property—from inventions to trademarks and copyrights, to industrial designs and trade secrets—is a worldwide problem," said Assistant Director Gordon M. Snow of the FBI Cyber Division in a statement. "It affects individuals and corporations financially and can threaten public safety. The additional FBI agents will significantly strengthen the efforts of our squads investigating intellectual property rights violations and help bring to justice those who seek to profit from intellectual property theft."

"Theft of intellectual property—from inventions to trademarks and copyrights, to industrial designs and trade secrets—is a worldwide problem," said Assistant Director Gordon M. Snow of the FBI Cyber Division in a statement.

We can't even protect the patent office? Someone needs to explain security systems to them. They're stealing the copyrights from under our noses.

"Theft of intellectual property—from inventions to trademarks and copyrights, to industrial designs and trade secrets—is a worldwide problem," said Assistant Director Gordon M. Snow of the FBI Cyber Division in a statement. "It affects individuals and corporations financially and can threaten public safety.

"The additional FBI agents will significantly strengthen the efforts of our squads investigating intellectual property rights violations and help bring to justice those who seek to profit from intellectual property theft."

If they're going after commercial infringement, fine. If they expand their jursidiction to include private copying via peer-to-peer networks, that is when we get the torches and pitchforks.

The FBI also gets 20 new Special Agents that will focus on "four geographic areas with intellectual property squads, and increase investigative capacity in other locations around the country where IP crimes are of particular concern." The four locations are LA, San Francisco, New York, and Washington, DC.

For balance, I think they should add 20 more for a certain judicial district in east Texas. (14 for Patel, 6 on the lookout for random *IAA invasions. Er, filings. I meant filings.)

Considering how much money the entertainment industry is slipping to the government it's not surprising they are getting something for their money. After all, the government is far more interested in protecting corporations than it is in protecting the lives of citizens.

They actually have a designated day for this shit? It's like having a "day" for red light cameras, or is there already one?

Not that I condone stealing software/ideas anymore than I do running red lights, just wondering what other silly days our corporate overlords will create for us.

Let's see... along the same lines, we could have: "Submit To Authority Day", dedicated to the unquestioning respect for the authority of all branches of government, organized religion and societal norms; "Bad-Mouth A Foreigner Day", celebrating the long-held tradition of blaming all of society's ills on the most politically convenient patsy available; and "Your Life Belongs To The Pharmaceutical Companies Day", because we can all rejoice now that they have solved that whole 'health' problem humanity had been faced with, all for low, low compulsory rates, while supplies last.

"Given that the FBI only has 31 existing special agents focused on IP crimes, this is a major increase in Bureau manpower."

" four geographic areas with intellectual property squads, and increase investigative capacity in other locations around the country where IP crimes are of particular concern." The four locations are LA, San Francisco, New York, and Washington, DC."

I think those should be re-written to say:

"Given that the FBI is currently so under manned that it can't find its own ass even if you pointed it out to them, this is a major mis-use of Bureau manpower."

"four geographic areas with intellectual property squads, and increase investigative capacity in other locations around the RIAA Offices where IP crimes are of particular concern." The four locations are the left cheek, the right cheek, the crotch, and that strange thing in between."

Seriously, don't you think these resources would be better employed doing something else like...I don't know...maybe... protecting the damn country internally against the internal terrorist threat they say exist and putting all these criminals it says it can't find in jail ! But no, what does the government do...go looking for some 13 year old kid or a mom who's trying to make ends meet after the economy collapsed and she lost her job or that college student, who downloaded some music.

OK, i'm a little po'd at this. The bureau can add extra man power to satisfy the delusional rantings of self-interest groups like the RIAA and the music labels, but they couldn't add more man power to investigate the economic collapse, couldn't add more man power when they knew there was a threat before 9/11, and can't bring most of the criminals they investigate to justice because they don't have the resources or man power to devote to complete the investigations.

I have no doubt that IP theft and infringment causes some effect and harm somewhere, but for cripes sake, how about the citizens who think a little attention should be paid to the FBI doing its real job and protecting the country and its citizens internally through actual law enforcement.

Oh wait, I know what happened... didn't one of you guys give the senator and congressman their cut this month? No? Damn, went to the highest bidder then I guess.

But...its not all bad, we get a holiday - World Intellectual Property Day ...what? Its not a holiday? I don't even get a T-Shirt?

OK, i'm a little po'd at this. The bureau can add extra man power to satisfy the delusional rantings of self-interest groups like the RIAA and the music labels, but they couldn't add more man power to investigate the economic collapse, couldn't add more man power when they knew there was a threat before 9/11, and can't bring most of the criminals they investigate to justice because they don't have the resources or man power to devote to complete the investigations.

I think the economic collapse is some other three-acronym agency. 9/11 was a failure not just for the FBI, but the whole intelligence system.

OK, i'm a little po'd at this. The bureau can add extra man power to satisfy the delusional rantings of self-interest groups like the RIAA and the music labels, but they couldn't add more man power to investigate the economic collapse, couldn't add more man power when they knew there was a threat before 9/11, and can't bring most of the criminals they investigate to justice because they don't have the resources or man power to devote to complete the investigations.

I think the economic collapse is some other three-acronym agency. 9/11 was a failure not just for the FBI, but the whole intelligence system.

Well yeah your right about 9/11, but the FBI is specifically chartered for inside the borders of the U.S. and they knew too. And although the FTC had a clue about the economic collapse and should have done something (and I think might have had it not been for Allen Greenspan), at one point they did have the FBI investigate some of the things going on leading up to the collapse almost a year before the collapse and the FBI was not able to complete those investigations suitably because they did not have the man power resources to do so.

oldcoot60 Considering how much money the entertainment industry is slipping to the government it's not surprising they are getting something for their money. After all, the government is far more interested in protecting corporations than it is in protecting the lives of citizens.

You must be getting old, 'cause you're obviously not feeling what the entertainment industry has been slipping you.... (and the rest of us).

Considering how much money the entertainment industry is slipping to the government it's not surprising they are getting something for their money. After all, the government is far more interested in protecting corporations than it is in protecting the lives of citizens.

A common refrain right up there with "tax the rich". So is the NRA a corporation? Are it's members "private citizens"? How about the AARP, or the NAACP? And I haven't even mentioned unions. What politicians are interested in protecting are their jobs and the perks of the job. "Private citizens" can provide both especially with the "right to vote", something corporations currently can't do.